Dice and method of making same

ABSTRACT

Transparent dice with a void therein filled with a liquid and/or visible matter, so that an entertaining visual aspect is visible through portions of the dice, when the dice are shaken, rolled or otherwise moved. The visual aspect could be a visible swirling motion, moving objects inside the dice, and objects in the liquid. Methods of making the dice are described.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of a provisional application filed on Nov. 27, 2019, and having Ser. No. 62/941,468, by Rodney J. Benesh, this application is incorporated herein, in its entirety, by this reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to dice, and more particularly relates to dice with liquid-filled hollow voids in the dice, and even more particularly relates to translucent dice having a void therein filled with a liquid and moving matter in the liquid which moving matter is visible through the translucent dice.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the past, dice have often comprised a single solid piece of rigid matter with planar sides. For example, the classic normal die is a cube with numbered sides. They may be opaque or transparent. Many modern board games utilize dice with more than six sides.

Dice have been known to include matter inside the dice. This matter has included hidden heavy solid matter, such as lead, and hidden very high density liquids such as mercury. This has been done to change the randomness of the dice.

Because of a common fear of corrupting the integrity of dice, there may have been some reluctance to including liquids in dice, which are intended to be fair dice producing random results.

Consequently, there exists novel opportunities for utilizing liquids in improved methods and apparatuses for generating random numbers with increased functionality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide transparent dice, with liquid therein, which provides for a new entertainment aspect.

It is a feature of the present invention to utilize visible liquid matter placed in the dice, which is entertaining.

It is an advantage of the present invention to provide for the ability to simultaneously generate random numbers and create a novel moving visual display inside the die with every roll of the die and for a few seconds after the die has stopped moving.

It is another feature of present invention to provide at least one chamber inside a transparent die into which objects or swirl material can be placed.

The present invention is an apparatus and method for varying an appearance of a die, which is designed to satisfy the aforementioned needs, provide the previously stated objects, include the above-listed features, and achieve the already articulated advantages. The present invention is carried out in a manner that the interior portion of the die is visible and capable of providing a unique non-static image with each roll of the die.

Accordingly, the present invention is a system for and method providing entertainment by rolling a die.

A handheld D6 die configured to generate random numbers, when rolled and allowed to come to rest, the handheld D6 die comprising:

-   -   a shell;     -   a sealed, leak-proof void in said shell, said void having:         -   a liquid having a specific gravity of less than 2.0, and         -   visible matter capable of moving with said liquid, where a             specific gravity of the combined liquid and visible matter             is less than 4.0;         -   said shell being made of translucent material so that said             visible matter is visible from a point outside of said             shell; and     -   said shell being configured with a plurality of faces, each with         numerical marking, so as to permit use as a number generating         die.

A method of making a random number generating die, comprising the steps of:

-   -   a. providing a translucent vessel;     -   b. providing in said translucent vessel a liquid;     -   c. providing visible matter inside said translucent vessel;     -   d. sealing said translucent vessel so as to retain said liquid         therein; and     -   e. said translucent vessel further having a plurality of         translucent planar faces thereon, each with a different         alpha-numeric marking, and each face configured so that said         visible matter can be seen from a point outside of said         translucent vessel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be more fully understood by reading the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, in conjunction with the appended drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, having eight (8) liquid containing internal chambers inside the die.

FIG. 2 is an alternate perspective view of the die of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is yet another alternate perspective view of the die of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a simple CAD drawing of another embodiment of the present invention with a top shell portion of a die configured with just one large internal chamber to receive therein either a single large globe or an injection of swirl material.

FIG. 5 is a simple CAD drawing of a bottom shell portion of a die configured to be formed by combining the top and bottom shells of FIGS. 4 and 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Now referring to the drawings, where like numerals refer to like matter throughout, the present invention relates to a novel die of the present invention. More specifically, now referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a handheld D6 die 100 of the present invention.

The term “handheld D6 die” hereafter shall be defined to have six (6) substantially square and substantially planar faces with each face have four (4) equal sides of 16 mm, in length. This “handheld D6 die” term shall also include scaled down versions where each face length is greater than half of the 16 mm dimension and scaled up versions where the face length is less than twice the 16 mm dimension.

It is understood that dice may have fewer or more sides than six (6) and that the present invention is equally applicable to handheld dice with different numbers of faces where the surface area of each face is between 64 square mm and 1000 square mm.

The die 100 is shown to include therein eight (8) small globes which are filled with liquid and visible material disposed in the liquid. More specifically, there is shown liquid filled globe 102 which is located at the upper right hand corner of the six (6) sides of the die. Also shown are liquid filled globe 104, in the lower right hand corner, liquid filled globe 106 in the upper left hand corner, and liquid filled globe 108 in the lower left hand corner of the six (6) sides of the die 100. Also shown are liquid filled globe 110, in the upper right hand corner of side three (3) and liquid filled globe 112 in the upper left corner of side three (3). These eight (8) globes are filled with liquid and contain visible matter therein which is perceivable by an unaided human eye during normal use of the die 100. When the die is rolled during use, the visible matter, which may be the same in the eight (8) globes or differ from globe to globe, is caused to move around within the globe and generate a visually changing aspect. This visual matter may be referred to herein as swirl material because of its ability to generate a swirling motion in each globe. The details of how to make such globe, which may be thought of as being similar to a snow globe which contains many tiny white particles which get stirred up with agitation, such as shaking or, in the case of die 100, by rolling the die. When a snow globe is no longer shaken the white particles begin to slowly fall downward mimicking a snow fall. The die 100 could be made up of two shells, a top shell and a bottom shell which would each contain four (4) of the eight (8) globes when the top and bottom shells are coupled to form a complete die, the result could appear as FIGS. 1-3.

It should be understood that any number of globes could be used depending upon the desired visual appearance. It should also be understood that globes need not be actual self-contained filled vessels of liquid and visible matter, but could also be compartments built into the top and bottom shells, or a single large compartment defined by portions of both top and bottom shells.

An example of die made by mating a top shell and bottom shell and thereby forming a single internal compartment within the die is shown in two parts in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Now referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a CAD representation of top shell of a D6 die with a single semi-spherical void therein. When this top shell is mated with the opposing bottom shell, which is shown in FIG. 5, a single die could be formed with a single spherical compartment therein. These shells could be made on 3D printer and then when assembled a liquid could be injected into the spherical compartment through a printed or drilled through hole, which can then be plugged or otherwise sealed shut.

Many different variations of die can be made which are similar in many respects to those shown in FIGS. 1-5. There are also various ways to make such dice. The following is a description of several different methods which are representative of even more methods which might be a variation of any of such methods or a combination of such methods.

The present invention may have other uses and extension beyond the simple single swirling dice.

One novel variant is the dice could also be 3D printed and injection molded to be true shells, leaving only enough outer integrity to hold the dice shell itself together. In addition, in some embodiments of the present invention it may be desirable to make shells that are as hollow as possible so normal resin dice creators could skip the silicone mold and just fill these shells with their resin and insert objects designs. The swirling dice prints/injection molded pieces of both of these types will be referred to as shells. These shells may be used or sold to other dice creators/anyone to be filled with any type of resin and color variations for visual effect. The shells themselves can be colored before or after production. These shells can be used to contain solid or loose objects as well as liquids (it is recommended that only the magic swirl set of shells contain liquids for stability purposes). Examples of objects to be contained are as follows: rolling eyes, (used in toys) bells, sand, beads, tiny works of art using clay/glass/paper/resin/plastic/metal or any other medium. Loose objects may be embedded inside of these shells using cured hardened liquids such as epoxy/UV resin or a hardened adhesive.

The Applicant has conceived several different methods of making dice including:

-   -   1) a handmade method,     -   2) an injection molding method, and     -   3) a 3D printing method.

Each of these methods will be discussed in more detail below.

1) Handmade Method:

1. Take a sized globe (glass globe with a 2 mm-5 mm hole) that will fit well into a silicone dice mold and fill it with a “swirling mixture” or “swirling liquid” (potential ingredients include; glitter, beads, mica powder, make-up, rubbing alcohol, distilled or purified water, food coloring or other colorant) color mix as desired. It may be desirable to include any object in the swirling liquid, when tiny fish shaped objects are used, the liquid may be preferred to be mineral oil. In all cases, very high density liquids such as those containing substantial amounts of mercury should be avoided. Any mixture of liquids with a specific gravity of greater than 2.0 may have undesirable effects on the randomness of numbers generated by the dice. It may be desirable to have this specific gravity to be under 1.5. Any mixture of liquids together with objects configured to move in the mixture of liquids and in the same container or compartment may be preferred to not have a combined specific gravity of greater than 4.0.

In one embodiment, the swirling mixture and/or liquid is made to have a red color which resembles the color of blood. The liquid can be made to have a viscosity that results in forming drops inside the die, after agitations, so as to resemble dripping blood. In this embodiment, it may be best to fill the liquid containing void in the die to approximately a level of half full.

The globe can also be made from two halves using UV resin to make both halves, then using UV resin to join the two halves. A small hole is drilled in this case.

2. Seal the hole of the globe using UV resin, other methods to seal have been silicone plugs, waterproof glue, epoxy resin have been used over the past year, leaving a small air bubble is recommended to prevent pressure issues/cracking/breaking/warping may also increase swirl effect.

3. Coat the sealed globe with a strong epoxy resin that adheres well to the glass or resin globe.

Allow resin to fully cure. An additional resin coat could also be applied before step 1 to get the globe ready.

4. Prepare or mix epoxy resin or UV resin (add color as desired), place the prepared resin in a vacuum chamber until most or all excess bubbles or gas have escaped. Take a bit of the resin and rub it over the filled globe to help prevent air from being trapped and from the prepared globe being directly exposed to the wall of a silicone dice mold.

5. Pour some of the prepared resin into a silicone (or other type) dice mold and rub it to cover all internal surfaces (preventing bubbles/flaws).

6. Insert the resin covered globe into the mold and close the mold ensuring little to no air has been trapped in the mold with the globe. Place the mold in a pressure chamber with desired PSI (higher PSI will reduce the appearance of and air bubbles). Allow the resin to fully cure.

7. Remove the mold from the pressure chamber and the dice from the mold and use a sharp hobby knife and/or sandpaper to remove any mold lines.

8. Use epoxy resin or UV resin to fix any bubble marks or flaws to the dice. Allow to cure, use sandpaper as needed.

9. Optional: once the dice is finished it may be dyed to a desired color using fabric dye.

10. Optional: paint the numbers using any type of paint or pens. Oil based paints and alcohol based paints work best for the Applicant.

2) Injection Molded Magic Swirl Dice

1. Receive the injection molded dice from files as two (2) pieces that will need to be joined. The injection molded parts can be colored as desired or dyed (for visual effects).

2. Join the two (2) pieces together using UV resin, epoxy resin or an adhesive, slightly melting the pieces and joining them is also a possibility. Allow products to fully cure and adhere the two (2) pieces.

3. Inject the swirling liquid through the hole left in the injection molded objects, if there is no hole then drill one (liquid mixture as mentioned in the fully handmade method).

4. Seal the hole using UV resin, epoxy resin or an adhesive, it is recommend to leave a small air bubble for the internal liquid to avoid issues (see handmade dice). Allow seal to fully cure.

5. Sand paper, hobby knife and other manual smoothing methods can be used to smooth the dice and sealant in the hole. Tumbling dice is also a method (like rock tumbling to smooth the surface).

6. Dice and dice numbers may be painted and dyed as desired for visual effect.

3) 3D printed Magic Swirl Dice

1. Receive the 3D printed dice from files as either one (1) hollow piece (skip step 2), or in two (2) pieces that will need to be joined. The 3D prints can be color printed as desired or dyed.

2. Join the two (2) pieces together using UV resin, epoxy resin or an adhesive, slightly melting the pieces and joining them is also a possibility. Allow products to fully cure.

3. Inject the swirling liquid through the hole left in the 3D printed object, if there is no hole then drill one (liquid mixture as mentioned in the fully handmade method).

4. Seal the hole using UV resin, epoxy resin or an adhesive, it is recommend to leave a small air bubble for the internal liquid to avoid issues (see handmade dice). Allow seal to fully cure.

5. Sand paper, hobby knife and other manual smoothing methods can be used to smooth the dice and sealant in the hole. Tumbling dice is also a method (like rock tumbling to smooth the surface).

6. Dice and dice numbers may be painted and dyed as desired for visual effect.

It is thought that the method and apparatus of the present invention will be understood from the foregoing description and that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construct steps and arrangement of the parts and steps thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of their material advantages. The form herein described is merely a preferred exemplary embodiment thereof. 

I claim:
 2. A handheld D6 die configured to generate random numbers, when rolled and allowed to come to rest, the handheld D6 die comprising: a shell; a sealed, leak-proof void in said shell, said void having: a liquid having a specific gravity of less than 2.0, and visible matter capable of moving with said liquid, where a specific gravity of the combined liquid and visible matter is less than 4.0; said shell being made of translucent material so that said visible matter is visible from a point outside of said shell; and said shell being configured with a plurality of faces, each with numerical marking, so as to permit use as a number generating die.
 3. The die of claim 1 wherein said shell is a combination of two 3D printed shell pieces each configured to mate with the other.
 4. The die of claim 1 wherein said shell is formed in an injection mold.
 5. The die of claim 1 wherein said liquid is an oil and said visible matter includes a member.
 6. The die of claim 4 wherein said member has a specific gravity greater than a specific gravity of mineral oil.
 7. The die of claim 4 wherein said specific gravity of said oil and said member in combination is less than 1.3.
 8. The die of claim 6 wherein said die has a specific gravity of less than 1.19 and greater than 1.0.
 9. A method of making a random number generating die, comprising the steps of: a. providing a translucent vessel; b. providing in said translucent vessel a liquid; c. providing visible matter inside said translucent vessel; d. sealing said translucent vessel so as to retain said liquid therein; and e. said translucent vessel further having a plurality of translucent planar faces thereon, each with a different alpha-numeric marking, and each face configured so that said visible matter can be seen from a point outside of said translucent vessel.
 10. The method of claim 8 wherein said liquid is a translucent liquid.
 11. The method of claim 9 wherein said translucent liquid is transparent.
 12. The method of claim 10 wherein said translucent vessel is transparent.
 13. The method of claim 11 wherein said translucent liquid is mineral oil and said visible matter includes a member shaped like a fish.
 14. The method of claim 9 wherein said translucent liquid is made to have a color and viscosity so as to resemble blood and to facilitate the formation of drips inside the translucent vessel.
 15. The method of claim 13 wherein said step of providing in said translucent vessel a liquid, results in a filling of said translucent vessel to a level between ¼ full and ¾ full.
 16. A handheld die configured to generate random numbers, when rolled and allowed to come to rest, the handheld die comprising: a shell; a void in said shell, said void having therein: a liquid; and visible matter capable of moving with said liquid, where a viscosity of the combined liquid and visible matter is such that drops of said liquid and visible matter are caused to form inside said void; said shell being made of translucent material so that said visible matter is visible from a point outside of said shell; and said shell being configured with a plurality of faces, each with unique markings, so as to permit use as a number generating die.
 17. The die of claim 15 wherein said viscosity is such that said drops are formed within said void and also fall within said void. 